Look back: Highlights from Melissa Merli on the week that was

It wasn't until I really looked that I realized half of the patrons at The Iron Post Monday evening were high school kids with Illinois Summer Youth Music. They were there to hear ISYM faculty in the Old Style Sextet, led by the talented and funny saxophonist Clark Gibson. The players' "father," Chip McNeill, sat in, "sight reading on his second instrument," the piano, as Gibson put it. The group played mostly originals that will be on its new CD, to be released in late August.

Music to my ears

I never tire of the SSG Trio: pianist Chip Stephens, drummer Joel Spencer and bassist Larry Gray, all UI jazz faculty and stellar musicians. They play every other Wednesday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Post. This past week, they were adventuresome, performing songs, some with interesting chord changes. The theme: songs with names in the titles, some by jazz greats and originals, among them Stephens' "St. Stephens at the Golden Gate," a tribute to his late father. It's an audience favorite.

One of Ebert's favorites

As I write this, it's Friday morning; my plans for the evening are to hear live music, go to the art show/fundraiser at Indi Go for the new veterans center on the UI campus and see the flick "Breaking Away" outdoors in the Busey lot. Before there was Lance Armstrong, there was "Breaking Away," a charming coming-of-age movie (1979) about bicycling and bike racing in Bloomington, Ind. "Breaking Away" was one of Roger Ebert's favorite movies; his review of it is spot-on: bit.ly/1r0QXOG.

More A & E

Comments

News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.